Voluntary Intoxication vs. Involuntary Intoxication and How It Affects a Criminal Case

Voluntary and Involuntary intoxication must be carefully taken into consideration in some cases in South Florida and its jurisdictions.

In Miami-Dade county, Broward county and Palm Beach county, defendants cannot go free of charges if they state that they got high on drugs or alcohol and committed the crime because of that. It does not help a criminal defense to state that you raped someone because you were high and didn’t know what you were doing if you voluntarily got high in the first place.

Voluntary intoxication is not a complete defense in South Florida due to the fact they people know that consuming alcohol or taking any type of drugs will result in uncontrolled behavior. However, in some states, voluntary intoxication may constitute a partial defense in criminal cases.

On the other hand, jurisdictions of south Florida such as Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, if you consume drugs or alcohol involuntarily, that may be a defense and you may be free of guilt.

If you are being charged with a crime and you believe you were under the effects of drugs or alcohol which lead you to commit the offense, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to represent you.